Forever Summer
by ThreeRainyDays
Summary: What was it about you that made me feel like I didn't have to pretend? SummerHopeShipping. Touko/Austin. Oneshot.


**Forever Summer**

The day I met you was the day I realized it.

I was in Nimbasa City, relaxing after a long day of training with my Pokemon. It was summer, and I stood in front of the Ferris wheel watching it slowly turn round and round.

Then I saw you.

You took me by surprise when you spoke to me first. As a general rule, strangers don't usually strike up conversations with me but you spoke like we were old friends. There was no awkwardness in your voice, no hesitation even though we had just met. You had that ability to make people feel instantly at ease, and I fell under your spell.

The battle we shared was one I'll never forget. It was the first time I ever lost. Before that day, I thought I was going to be the greatest trainer ever, no questions asked. I thought I was the best around and that no one would ever beat me. I thought I was so cool. I was arrogant, and you defeated me so easily I hardly had time to blink before the battle was over.

How did you do it?

I must've looked pretty pathetic because you offered to ride the Ferris wheel with me after. I admit it felt a little like a pity ride, but I took it anyway. The old anxiety rose up as the car climbed higher and higher. And yet, seated side by side, you held my hand and I didn't feel afraid even as the ground slipped further away.

What was it about you that made me feel like I didn't have to pretend?

On that day, I wasn't trying to be anyone. I wasn't Austin, the cool guy who never lost to anyone. I was just Austin, shy and nervous, and I showed to you the side of me that no one ever saw. I had just met you. So why did I feel like I could trust you so much?

It was the way you looked at me. You didn't show disgust or disappointment in me. You didn't expect anything of me. And I loved it. You didn't need me to be anything, and the façade I put on shattered in an instant. Your eyes held compassion and genuine warmth in them that I had never seen before. I couldn't get enough of it.

When I went home that night, I fell asleep reflecting on the Ferris wheel and the beautiful girl I had met there. I had fallen for you before I knew it.

It was stupid of me to go back there, I know. But when I saw you again the next day in the same spot where we first met, all thoughts of regret flew out the window. I had gotten to see you again, and that made every self-deprecating thought worth it. For the next week, we met under that Ferris wheel and the love I had nurtured from the very first moment only grew with each passing day.

And then it was time for me to wake up. You would be leaving the city soon, to continue traveling the region. Shouldn't I have left too, a long time ago? I felt hopelessly behind, because you were already so far ahead and only getting further.

You wouldn't remember me next month, next year, next summer. I'd be alone, with only memories to taunt me. I was so sure that you meant more to me than I meant to you. I was just another guy to you. I was sure you had others lined up around the block. An amazing girl like you… well, where did I fit into all that?

I'm not cool. I'm not cool at all. You're everything I'm not, and everything I've ever wanted to be. You don't even try, but that's what I love about you. The way you smile so naturally makes everything go away until all I can see is you. I close my eyes and that day is illuminated in my memory. That day when I met you under the Ferris wheel.

I really loved you. I still love you.

I know it's stupid. I know I should forget about you and move on with my life. I sometimes think to myself that maybe if I had never met you, maybe I wouldn't be this way. Maybe I would've kept on training, still reaching for the top. But then I'd meet you there anyway, because I know that's where you'd be. Then I think that I don't regret any of it. Meeting you wasn't a mistake. It was a blessing.

You were the best thing that happened to me, White.

I'll be at the Ferris wheel again tomorrow. It's not summer anymore, but it always is in my memory of you. I know you'll become the Champion one day. I know you'll go on to do even greater things. I know you'll find someone special to love.

I hope that you'll think of me someday. I hope that I have a place in your heart somewhere, because you have one in mine. You always will. I love you. I love you, White. I love you.

Do you know what I realized that day? I'm not as strong as I used to be. I'm not strong unless I'm with you.

* * *

Hey, Austin. You know what? I've never forgotten you, either. And I want to tell you something that I was too afraid to tell you back then. I'll be waiting under the Ferris wheel. Do you want to know a secret? I'm not that strong either. Because I…


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